How to create your perfect running playlist

Music can motivate, enhance and even control your pace and getting it right can make a big difference to your performance! So in honour of National Fitness Day and to give you a helping hand, we’ve asked Naz Idelji, head of compilations at Ministry of Sound and the brains behind specially curated fitness albums like Running Trax, for her tips on how to create your perfect running playlist.

Make sure you like the music

It may sound simple but we all know how demotivating it can be at the gym when they’re playing music you don’t like compared with how a great song can push you through those final reps. Start with the basics and be prepared for your workout with music that you love.

Pick tracks that are uplifting and feel good

Music can have a very powerful emotional effect which in turn affects our physical responses. Help get your endorphins flowing by picking tracks that make you feel great – save the tearjerkers for home!

Select tracks with good choruses that will give you an extra boost

It’s not just the tempo or genre of music that can impact your performance but also the lyrics. If you’re planning a particularly tough workout, a few good choruses and inspirational words can make a big difference to your motivation. ‘Not Giving In’ by Rudimental is a good example.

Create a ready-to-go workout playlist

There’s nothing worse than constantly skipping through tracks to find the song you want – it takes you out of the zone and can play havoc with your pace. Creating playlists specifically for the kind of workout you’re doing or downloading a specialist compilation helps you avoid this and takes it a step further by matching your heart rate to the BPM of the music.

Make sure you build the tempo

It’s important to warm up and music can help you safely raise your heart rate. Depending on your fitness level this varies – the fitter you are the longer it takes to raise your heart rate. So start slow, end slow and don’t set off on your fastest track – you will burn out quickly and won’t get a proper warm-up.